FILM LITERACY: CONTINUITY CINEMA AS A VISUAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Year 2015, , 57 - 89, 15.03.2015

Sermin Ildırar

https://doi.org/10.32001/sinecine.540272

Abstract

Making sense of films is an amazing mental and cognitive activity that requires the viewer
to maintain a sense of continuity despite fragmentations in time and space and thus induces
activation of several areas of the cerebral cortex. The continuity editing rules that emerged
through trial and error by 1910 are the most dominant and common conventions that allowed
viewers to e ortlessly integrate the fragmented parts of a film. This achievement of continuity
in cinema has been explained by its ability to mimic the course of natural active perception.
From that perspective, films su ciently resemble natural ways of viewing and therefore should
be understood almost instantly without any film-specific literacy. Contrary to this perspective,
films have also been considered as highly stylized and conventionalized ways of depicting scenes
and events. From that perspective, in order to comprehend a movie, viewers would have to
acquire some knowledge about the set of filmic rules and conventions beforehand, namely, to
gain film literacy. This article will discuss the contributions of “natural perception” and “gained
film literacy” to film comprehension, tracing the theoretical arguments and empirical studies
on the subject from the fields of film studies, anthropology, and psychology. 

Keywords

Film literacy, film perception, continuity cinema, film language, film grammar

FİLM OKURYAZARLIĞI: BİR GÖRSEL İLETİŞİM SİSTEMİ OLARAK DEVAMLILIK SİNEMASI

Abstract

Filmleri anlamlandırmak, filmlerdeki zamansal ve mekânsal parçalanmaya rağmen bir devamlılık
duygusu oluşturmayı gerektiren, beynin korteksinde birçok bölgenin aktive olmasına neden
olan, müthiş bir zihinsel ve bilişsel aktivitedir. Henüz 1910’lu yıllarda deneme yanılma yöntemiyle
keşfedilmiş olan devamlılık sinemasının kuralları, seyircilerin filmleri bu parçalı yapılarına rağmen
anlamlı bir bütün olarak algılamalarını sağlayan en baskın ve yaygın film yapma tarzının temelini
oluşturmaktadır. Devamlılık sinemasının bu başarısını onun doğal aktif algının işleyişini taklit
etmesi ile açıklayan bakış açısına göre filmler onlara özgü bir okuryazarlık gerektirmeden anında
anlaşılırlar. Başka bir bakış açısına göre ise filmler, gerçeği betimlemenin oldukça biçimlendirilmiş
bir halidir ve filmleri anlamlandırmak için seyircilerin birtakım kod ve kuralları öğrenmesi; yani
filmlere özgü görsel bir okuryazarlık kazanması gerekir. Bu makale, doğal algı ile kazanılan film
okuryazarlığının filmleri anlamlandırmak üzerindeki katkılarını, film çalışmaları, antropoloji ve
psikoloji alanlarında bu konuda ortaya konulmuş kuramlar ile yapılmış deneysel çalışmalar
ışığında tartışacaktır. 

Keywords

Film okuryazarlığı, film algısı, devamlılık sineması, film dili, film grameri

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